Fwd: on veterans, marbles and the wind

some time not log ago i had a chance to travel with my brother shai, we didn't have much time and as always we looked for a new destination. Minnesota was mentioned as it is one of the missing states, but time did not allow and we ended up choosing another exciting destination.

after a short 6.5 hours drive, i picked my brother at the airport in Chicago and we started heading north, and hour later we stopped way passed dinner time at a small steak house and enjoyed a rib eye with some potatoes and kept driving north.

just under around an hour less we arrived at our destination, Milwaukee. we found a good conference hotel down town and decided to part. the hotel had a 25$ parking and a 32$ valet parking, no way i am paying that much for parking, i will show them and parked a block away for free. i saw a do not park here type of sign and parked more down the street where it is safe.

we entered a hotel for freaks. people were dressed like ferries , ponies and the like. blue ribbons every where, wings and the like. we asked around and there as a "my little pony convention" never seen the show myself, but people were dressed as characters of the show. we decided to call it a night and explore the city in the morning.

some hours later, i found a nice place for breakfast and a hiking tour of the city and we were ready to explore. we left the hotel, took our luggage outside and saw dozens of bikers. what seemed as a gang of hoodlums at first, turned out to veterans. this was veteran's day and the city was holding its annual parade. we watched these bikers slow pass by and then something annoyed me in the background, no cars...

i looked again and confirmed it, the space where my cars stood was vacant. we rushed over and saw the do not park here sign i saw yesterday and saw more of those signs. the entire area was cleared for the parade. the signs didn't even specify a towing number. it was November and arctic winds were blowing. lucky some parade official knew the towing company and we now took a cab some 15 minutes away. 

the towing office was full of lucky people, we took a number and waited, we needed ID which i had and insurance , lucky for the phone app and aprox six times the parking fee and an hour later we were back in control and headed downtown.

we made it to the breakfast place and the parking next to it was free, so the sign says we parked an i had some nice eggs Benedict and hot chocolate. we also checked on the parking and while it is true it is free, there is a 2 hour limit... a known city trap! so we moved the car to a full day pay and avoided further risks.

we finally began walking on this extremely cold day, it was the start of the |coldest November since ...19xx. we found a walking tour of the main sites and started walking. we passed the parade on the way and enjoyed some music from the man marching bands and teen groups in various uniforms. we walked around a city park overlooking the lake and joined the crowds in the parade. 

we stopped by the art museum. which had one special exhibit from some museum in Europe, i don't recall which one, not all art is my type, this was not and soon we kept walking. there was a discovery museum which was so full of kids you couldn't even move so we skipped that and walked the lake shore for a freezing hour. we stopped at a local market and tried some local healthy food and decided that there is no more for this city worth exploring and we drove south again.

since this is Wisconsin, we stopped at a cheese castle, a shop resembling a castle that turned out be be just a regular market so we left without getting cheese and drove back to Chicago.

2 guys out on the town, where to go?, what to do?, so many choices. after checking in to our hotel, we went to the mall...

this was a premium outlet mall, all the expensive brands have stores that at major discounts, still to expensive for my taste, but i did get a bunch of clothes for Mattan and a wallet, after using my pockets only for a couple of years.

we dined at a surprisingly good bar restaurant inside the mall and crashed. Shay was tired post a hectic election in san Jose after finally making it to the right one and i was tired from over working so a day of nothing is is good.

next morning we stopped at a trendy breakfast place then went to the an out door freezing flee market. we barely had cash, which was good, not much to get, but i did get a hat for my freezing ears. after an hour or so in the market we decided to go to sears tower, which has a different name now and parked, again paying, no more tows please.

the wind in the windy city was brutal, it moved us literally a meter forward at some point.

the line to the tower on a cold empty day was an hour and a half, so we skipped it. we passed by a dip dish pizza place , signed up, and left, since it takes 45 min to make a pizza, we walked around and stumbled on a movie set, several square blocks were closed and a bunch of staffers were taking measurements to the curious crowds. they all said that these are preliminary and  shooting will be later, i don't know which movie, they told us something which is probably wrong. since its Chicago, perhaps the 3rd divergent movie? who knows, 40 cold minutes later we met for a warm dip dish pizza at the most famous place, so the menu says, it was ok for me, not something worth coming back to. well it was now time to go. i dropped him off at his hotel for a few more days of his convention and i began the 6 hours drive back home.

as you may remember, i am finishing my ancient biology degree and for one of the assignments i had to find some nature tour in the area of conservation. I found one. bird counting. rangers all over the great lake count water fowl and the species to determined movement patterns to identify what areas to preserve. i got to see some duck species i never even heard about before , some gulls and spent 2 hours by the lake.

Mattanchuck had a bad 10 days not long ago. on a Thursday he slipped in the pool and bled from his chin, a nice little cut. 2 days later we brought in boxes of floor lamination for Mattan's new room. we leaned some on the walls while we brought the rest in and Mattanchuck moved one of them and it fell on him, the box weighs more then he does and it is much taller and basically hit him all over , in the face as well. so we spent an evening at the ER. he was fine other than a nasty bruise on his chick and next to the eye and experienced an almost CT. you need to be still for a CT, so for babies they bind them, poor thing didn't like that and was fighting the restraint they couldn't do it in the end. a week later, i was with him and i think he swallowed a marble, well i have no proof, but he had marbles nearby and he was making strange sounds, so i rushed him to the ER again. you come there, rush in and then wait... very troubling, Mattan was acting fine by then, and started playing around the toys of the kids er and i was a nervous wrack. Inna came by to help and we held the poor guy down for an X-Ray which revealed nothing. for a few days later were were doing number 2 examinations for lost marbles and found none.

yesterday he fell down some stairs twice! once blooding his chin again and the other hitting his head. he is fine and is starting to climb up and down the stairs without holding the rails. while he is pushing his limits, he pushes our anxiety. 

well those were the recent events..

see you next year

winter photos

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18 month report

18 months have passed so quickly, hard to believe Mattanchuck has grown so much. Its time for the annual 18 month report.

 

Hair color still blond J and eyes still blue JJ .

Likes: the stair are still a huge attractions, so are cars- especially red, since both of our cars are red, he recognizes that and also gray for Ira, his new nanny.

He loves taking his tiny red car or bicycle for a walk, he doesn't really ride the yet, but pushes them along and loves to get in and out even if the car is moving, action style.

The light is a huge hit- he tries to figure which light goes where and asks (loud) to be lifted up to higher lights like the oven light for more advanced research into the on/off world.

Music is also big- he asks to turn it on- he has not figured that one yet, and then like to turn volume low, then very high.

He like opening the blinds, loves his DDDD (DVD player) and can sit and watch the same tune over and over and over and over and over again and over again.

Lately , he loves company especially when going to sleep which makes us lose sleep, we now have a mattress by his bed and stay with him till he falls asleep – its obvious we are suckers 1^st time parents. If we are not there he can wail very loud nonstop- serious lungs.

He likes milk- must have 4 times a day, lemonade, water as well but not as much. All manner of fruits and vegetable are good including those I cannot touch like zucchini, yuck. But his taste changes by the day, some days he will eat yogurt and other days not. While distracted by activities we can jam more food into him

 

Favorite fruit- blueberries, 2^nd place blueberries, and way below banana and peach.

He likes kasha, and is very good in general with potatoes, bread, meats, rice, soup. Good eater.

He outweighs his cousin (4 month older) , but not as tall.

He loves train and will begin to steal from other babies in the library.

Best friend – Allen – who is 2 months older then him- and they shout ooowwwww to one another- they communicate well.

He loves bridges and going up and down things, cross the road then cross back. He knows to mimic dog, monkey, owl , rooster, lion (a bit) but not cat. He points to him self when we say his name and clearly points to us and his grand parents and nanny.

You can see him thinking all the time, he likes to stand and watch as things unfold ( my fault) slightly less social with other kids, but it gets better. He cant sit still in classes for babies (same as me).

He is likely right handed but shows left tendencies as well.

He will sometimes sit on the couch next to me, mimicking me, adorable. He climbs ladders and goes up the slide, good climber.

He is sometimes brave and sometimes afraid of dogs, with cats he is still cautious.

His arch nemesis – Johnny 5 a.k.a romba the mobile vacuum – he is terrified of that, but not from the regular vacuum.

His new fetish is shoes- he tries ours on, still did not start walking in them and he would bring shoes to us as a sign that he wants to go outside. He understand when we want to dress him to go outside.

He is an expert of floor peeing if I take the diaper off and let him road before the shower.

He does like the shower itself, especially putting the shampoo bottles on the hanger and back down.

He knows how to open caps and scares the hell out of me and also tries to dismount his high chair and that also scares me.

He falls often , barely cries and moves on, he will sometimes cry for attention , not long – but he will cry when he can't do something- frustration cry for help. As mentioned before, he will scream when he doesn't want to go to bad.

 

He can fall asleep easy in the car, same as I. he mimics hand gestures, my favorite is when he curls his hand "what" kind of gesture, just precious.  He does high five and we now try to teach him to five in both hands.

He tries something and tries again till he gets it right, very impressive persist-ency.

He likes to run around our kitchen island and play some sort of hide and seek with chases.

He starts to get in to cars, which is good.

His says hi, bye, mama, papa, baba, lion,  and understand Russian and Hebrew- we try to keep the English at minimum at this point. At the library he says bye to everyone and gets a lot of well-deserved attention. At the local market he begins to get stickers from the clerks but does not understand what to do with them yet. Magnets are a new discovery, he has not figured out why the trains stick on just one side. But he likes to create a long train and take it for a ride in the library.

He has been to 2 countries so far and 2 states. Already more than the average American.

Ah, he has high a whole section of the buck eye trail- the Bedford section from Brecksville reservation till Lake Erie in Mentor. Over 67 miles!!!

Well that's it for tonight.

My son, don't stop surprising, can't wait to see what come's next.

And don't be upset when you see us taking you out of your crib soon, it is needed for the next one…..

 

 

Re: a day in brussles

https://plus.google.com/photos/104769303678729727539/albums/6025186218494977681?authkey=CKCz2LGosun-gQE

Brussels photos

On Sun, Jun 15, 2014 at 11:59 AM, Gil Even <gil.even@gmail.com> wrote:

A day in brussles

 

I boarded the plan in Cleveland with a back pack and a baby seat in a big bag as a trolley, not a heavy thing, just bulky. The 1^st leg was fine at plane side check in, but on the large plane, no one said anything as I put it on the plane, but then it wouldn't fit. Unfortunately I had to check the baby seat all the way to my final destination and I am so glad! It would have been a pain to lug that thing around.

 

Now I was free to roam Brussels for 3.5 hours. I preplanned my route to hit maximum number of sites, since the city center is not that large. I've been to Brussels years ago for a few hours and didn't plan and had not real good memories of the place. But I am more prepared now. Still, the 1^st impressions were not great, nice quite city but nothing extra ordinary, its Sunday morning and the city is quite empty, but I go site to site and take photos of many interesting statues or carvings and finally hit the grand palace area and things get lively. Small streets, sidewalks that make me look down or risk a sprain, lots of restaurants, lots of tourists, lots and lots of chocolate places, and thieves. There is a sign on the cathedral entrance that thieves operate in and out of the place, I wonder if they mean the priests?

It's a nice sunny day and I stop in the gallery for refueling of crepe with bananas and chocolate and hot chocolate la maison and get chocolate for desert… (free treat). Now energized I get to the world wonder. I have a new book of 100 world wonder and the grand palace is one of them. I need to see if there was no bribe to get this place in! it is nice, but a world wonder, I am not so sure. Si keep walking and pass more small cathedrals, squares, statues, many of the statues are of lions, some roar, some cower and some just stand proud. I reach the peeing boy status and take a peeing on me selfie, a must I think, get a chocolate sample at Leonidas and later a very yummy ice cream at a small market I happen to pass by.

I make it on time to the airport and wish I left later to reach one more random square.

 

Over all, efficient use of time, in a good city center, but I wouldn't rate it on my top 10 European cities. Something is missing, the place is pretty but the charm is not there.

 

World wonder- check

Ice cream and chocolate – check

Been peed on – check

Not being robbed – check

Flight to Israel in one hour

 

photos coming...

a day in brussles

A day in brussles

 

I boarded the plan in Cleveland with a back pack and a baby seat in a big bag as a trolley, not a heavy thing, just bulky. The 1^st leg was fine at plane side check in, but on the large plane, no one said anything as I put it on the plane, but then it wouldn't fit. Unfortunately I had to check the baby seat all the way to my final destination and I am so glad! It would have been a pain to lug that thing around.

 

Now I was free to roam Brussels for 3.5 hours. I preplanned my route to hit maximum number of sites, since the city center is not that large. I've been to Brussels years ago for a few hours and didn't plan and had not real good memories of the place. But I am more prepared now. Still, the 1^st impressions were not great, nice quite city but nothing extra ordinary, its Sunday morning and the city is quite empty, but I go site to site and take photos of many interesting statues or carvings and finally hit the grand palace area and things get lively. Small streets, sidewalks that make me look down or risk a sprain, lots of restaurants, lots of tourists, lots and lots of chocolate places, and thieves. There is a sign on the cathedral entrance that thieves operate in and out of the place, I wonder if they mean the priests?

It's a nice sunny day and I stop in the gallery for refueling of crepe with bananas and chocolate and hot chocolate la maison and get chocolate for desert… (free treat). Now energized I get to the world wonder. I have a new book of 100 world wonder and the grand palace is one of them. I need to see if there was no bribe to get this place in! it is nice, but a world wonder, I am not so sure. Si keep walking and pass more small cathedrals, squares, statues, many of the statues are of lions, some roar, some cower and some just stand proud. I reach the peeing boy status and take a peeing on me selfie, a must I think, get a chocolate sample at Leonidas and later a very yummy ice cream at a small market I happen to pass by.

I make it on time to the airport and wish I left later to reach one more random square.

 

Over all, efficient use of time, in a good city center, but I wouldn't rate it on my top 10 European cities. Something is missing, the place is pretty but the charm is not there.

 

World wonder- check

Ice cream and chocolate – check

Been peed on – check

Not being robbed – check

Flight to Israel in one hour

 

photos coming...

on remote, ladder and voccabulary

2 devices were lost recently to the never ending chaos

one DVD remote discovered the inside of the toilet , while a house phone found a water play area out side, both devices decided that one bath is enough and do not function any more.

we suspect a baby who was seen holding the devices, pointing at the TV and complaining why they don't work.

 

Matanchuk has some new games. he takes a ball, goes to a person, hands it, and then pulls t away. so cute.

recently he learned to walk up the slide and scare his grand mom. and today he learned to climb the ladder (to get to the slide)!! at first he needed to be pushed, then only to support, then just to be there in case of a fall and now he is climbing. i am still a mm away in case he falls, but it is awesome!!!

he now has two dance moves, up and down and side to side, already more versatile then I.

 

he has new vocabulary.

 

i say good morning, he says hi

i ask if he can jump and he says high?

he falls down, i asked whats wrong, he says aiii

i ask, do you want to go out side and play, he point to himself and asks I?

so many words...

 

we started a hiking project, doing the buckeye trails, its over 2000k -it will takes years, but i started hiking with mattan on my back and hope to finish it with him walking next to me.

 

so far 3 miles of trail covered, but since we have to park and go back to the Car, the actual walks are doubled. Mattan so far is ok in the back pack. the trails are amazing, green , lots of flowers, some deer, frogs and all the time by the chagrin river, i hope by end of summer to reach the lake, all hiking in sections.

 

that is it, lately just doing some biking, some volley ball, some hiking and but wiping.

 

see you in Israel soon.

p.s - lots of mattan photos and some other humans

https://plus.google.com/photos/104769303678729727539/albums/6023872105899406881?authkey=CI2q2LGirprsLw

 

 

on racoons, groceries and lego

this week Alla went to the super market, got some stuff and when almost arrived home, she noticed she forgot the groceries!! and went back. i asked if she forgot mattan...

 

we had a new visitor in the back yard this morning. a raccoon! enjoying the bird food. I dont like seeing him so close to where mattan plays, but i do enjoy seeing them.

 

last weekend i held an amazing race event, the 1st in two years. it shows i have more time now that school is out. i had the people do face painting with Amanda (an expert face painter) and they drew spider man on their faces. then played some paint ball, tried some archery, an hour of orienteering and finish with some disc golf. i need to find a place that lets me act as a participant.

 

I took mattanchuk to the mall today for his 14th month birthday. he got close to the edge on the 2nd floor and approached very cautiously, so cute. he loved the lego store! i had to get him something, but he most wanted 2 cubes and nothing of the fancy stuff. i on the other wanted to get tons of stuff. castle Lego, Simpsons lego... just awesome, but didn't get any for me..

 

in an unexpected turn of events, i was asked to be the president of our work toast masters branch and i ran for office , one minute speech later and i was voted in. what have i done? it may be an interesting role.

 

Mattanchuk has a fetish for the road. we walk him out side and he dashes of to the middle of the road and when indoors he runs to the door, not sure why he does that, but by the time he can tell me,  he will forget about it. i got him a bicycle but he is a bit small for that, he still prefer the little red car. there are several dogs in the area and one of them gave him a face bath, so funny.

 

nothing special lately, simply enjoying the summer... see you in Israel in 12 days

on bluebirds, rice and the bathroom floor

it's strange being out of school and having nothing to do. I need a project. for now, i am debating what to do with toast masters. i should continue my advances speeches series, but for now focusing on the leadership program , i am half way through. but now its time for club election. i can be president. well there is no real competition. its a small club and if i choose to run, no one will run against me, will i win such election? but do i want to commit, that is the question. i may take one of the VP positions, still arguing with myself. with free time, i am arranging another amazing race event, it will be fun. i love arranging these thing, i will share photos after the event. 

mean while i am having fun with mattanchuk.

a few days ago, he discovered a bag of rice and decided to hold it up side down, its very exciting to see grains fall. and these grains go everywhere. i cleaned it up and when i was done, he found another bag of rice and id it again!!! cleaning rice is hard, they scatter to far, i pile the grains and mattan goes to the pile and scatters them by hand, it was so funny.

i took him to the shower, on an unrelated day and had him without a diaper for a second and he peed on the bathroom floor. cleaned it up and took him to the shower and when i got up, i was surprised to find poop on the floor. i have no idea when he did that, it was either him or a very big rat.

on sunny days we started being active, i took him on a couple of hikes, saw some blue birds. i saw blue birds on my street, but not in my back yard yet, i need to find find the food that attracts them, very pretty birds. i took him on a ride in his little car, and now he learned to put his foot on the ground, Flintstones style and slow down, which wrecked his shoe! 

he now says hi, that his the 1st unofficial word, i am waiting for another. he is an expert at taking of shoes and socks, peeing on the bathroom floor, activating the nap time music thing by his bad, muting the tv with the remote,  and practicing his building blocks ability, ball handling and other such skills.

today he managed to flip pages on the tablet, so cute. and he is addicted to Hebrew songs on DVD he got from his aunt. he started eating oat mill porridge and now so have I. i think i have a mom habit of eating whatever he doesn't eat, but the weight loss continues... with a long way to go...

summer is out and i hope to make it as fun as i imagine it to be, rain stay away in the evenings.... so i can continue playing beach volleyball, bike and hike, its so much fun.

cheers

on speeches, trees and feet

could every day be this day?

 

woke up early before 6 am , Mattan woke me up, and while i take a shower, he tries to go into the shower with clothes on to play with shampoo bottles. then breakfast, bottle of yukky stuff for Mattan and granola for me. diaper change of  both 1 and 2 and then heading downtown for graduation. i am not sure of the origin of the graduation dress code. i was placed in a robe of black and green. on top of that, something that is not a vest, not a scarf, but yet drapes from my neck. colored black green and brown. and the traditional hat with a brown tassel. why does business school get brown? do they no business is S##t? i was surprised to see so many people i had not seen, all MBA grads, i was not aware the program was so big. so many future contenders for my next job.

we were placed in a line and made our way to the center courts (the ceremony was in an arena), where every body walks the line to their sits while looking for families in the audience.

the gown has some strange additions  (a kind of fingerless gloves at the ends of the robe) that you can stick your hand in, again, the purpose is not clear and i saw no use at first, but then we found a use, place the phone in, since the robe has no pockets. it held my water bottle as well, a most handy and strange thing.

 

the ceremony began, with one greeting after another, the president,  Representative of the board, alumni rep, the speeches went faster than i assumed, then some honorary titles to people I've never herd of, a few doctoral awards and Finally, over 200 or so graduates, went up, got my side photo, had my name read, one more photo with the president, one More by myself, very efficient graduation machine. then we waited for the entire undergrad class and soon after an hour and a half only we were done, they didn't have everyone throw the hats in the air...shame but some did anyway (so i had to join them). a few minutes later, we got some more photos next to the beautiful blossoming trees. the best time of year is right now, when all the fruit trees are blossoming.  the gradation almost feels complete, as i still wait for my last grade....

after the event i drove to an orienteering event and Quayle hollow. i have not had great success there, once a was stung my so many mosquitoes, i actually felt bad, another time i was lots for a while. but today i was on fire. i have not ran in 6 weeks (took a break for the vacation and end of school), so , i therefore did not expect to be able to run much. but i surprised myself and ran for the most of the 90 minute event, 4.6 miles of woods running, definitely my best orienteering pace ever. this was a score event, meaning a set time and many points, collect the most you can, with further or harder to find points worth more, so to win you must move fast and make no mistakes. this time (unlike the usual) i was mistake free, almost. spent no wasted time. at one creek crossing, i walked on a tree to cross, and at the edge, slipped and got both feet wet. since that point i didn't care for streams and ran through them, where usually i would be more careful and waste time.

towards the end of the time, i made a push for one more point, got wet again and made it back in time (there are severe point penalties for being late). no results yet, and again i will not win, but definitely my best event ever.

and a bonus, got to see some deer and a lovely green forest.

 

now resting at home, with sore but satisfied feet.

this is how every day should be...

 

 

yearly report- season 6

slightly late... but i owe you the yearly report...

 

what did we have in the last year,

we had a graduation, ceremony this weekend and i will graduate with the highest honors..wooooohoooo. i don't know really what has changed to get me to honors, since it's was not so before. perhaps the program is easier, perhaps i am more mature, or more focused. but have spent countless hours and worked my butt off.

 

travel has seen 2 countries, Iceland and cost Rica which brings the total to 55 countries but no new states... how can this be, need to get to Alabama some how, the list of missing states is short, but none are near by.

 

 

the plan for next year includes possibles of Portugal and south of space with bonus Gibraltar, Peru, perhaps more central America. but honestly, i want after the work project ends to take a month off and tour several countries. how to do it with the little one, time will tell.

 

in local travel, we went to a big cavern in south Ohio and that's it, well we did have more work at home.

 

movies- i think i only saw 2-3 the whole year,(though many at home), we saw the blue man group and hardly any music shows.

 

well, its been a busy year of wiping, washing, cleaning, dressing, undressing, dressing,undressing, pee cleaning, poop picking, filming, holding, calming, panicking, medicine giving, creaming, carrying, piggybacking, napping, soaping, salining, laughing, smiling, barking, squirrel pointing, reading, singing, grabbing, driving, sliding,catching and many more surprisingly fun activities of watching mattanchuk discover the world. 

they told me raising a child is fun, i didn't appreciate how much, its awesome, but yes one is enough.

 

running was a big part of this difficult winter  with 8 races so far with improving times, but still have not came close to the 30 minutes goal. i did do 1 8k race and 1 triathlon, internal. there will be more of these this summer,

i had 2 orienteering events and another rogaine orienteering, lost my way once, and managed to pass through so many thorns on one event, that i had marks all over my legs, arms and even head- last rogain for me in thorny Pennsylvania.

 

i didn't spend enough time on the treadmill, need to return to that, and do more weights. i gained >30 pounds in the last year and almost lost it all, i hope by the time you seem me back home, that i will reach a point lowest in the last 4 years. i am doing wight watchers and greatly changed my bad eating habits.

 

cereal changed to granola, beef to fish, lots of edamame, one item per meal, waiting before seconds, putting the fork down and many more changes, i am in my seconds session, it is not part of work, but it's at work which makes it easier to attend.

last year has seen more plate changes including heart of palm (not yummy), squash (i still cant believe i ate it), gefilte fish!!! what the heck is happening to my taste buds.

 

i started going to Toast masters this year and completed my competent communicator status after completing 10 speeches, i am now in the process of a leadership program that will take me the rest of the year, as my club has a meet every 2 weeks, and also proceed with more advanced speeches program. what will i do with all these new learning's and skills, i don't know yet. when i will grow up i will decide what's next.

 

fun activities included surfing, wind surfing, volcano bathing, hiking, biking, jet skiing, kayaking, kanoeing, rafting, jungle tracking, zip lining, canyoning, rappelling,  high jumping to natural pools, water hole swimming, orienteering, rogaining, triathalonearing, running, swimming, snorkeling, volley balling.

 

interesting moments

i swam naked in a volcano pool!!!!! that was awesome, and zoomed in photos by paparazzi does exist, but photos were never shared with me. did i mention the pool was cold.

 

i walked where astronauts practiced the moon landing.

 

i ate great testing hot dogs, purchased them and when tried them here, they were horrible.

 

i learned to surf, and managed to bruise my ribs

 

i learn to wind surf... i need to find local clubs here.

 

i play D&D till 8 months ago in a fun campaign, need to fun another since the organizer moved out of town.

 

i swam and jumped into the incredible water holes in Mexico

 

i saw impossible to find frogs, lizards that look like a leaf and more interesting animals.

 

i launched pumpkins in an Amish farm, and almost hit the target.

 

i tried apple butter (not bad)

 

i played lots of back gammon and word with friends.

i finished season 4 for braking bad, season 1 of home land, season 5 of breaking bad... yes i watch TV too much.

i watched wreselmania live, for the 1st time. i still cant believe the undertaker lost!!

 

i went fishing once, and caught nothing, which is good, why hurt the poor fish.

i didn't have new visitors in my bird feeder, a repeat of the same, but still nice to see. i saw my 1st coyote hear.

i had a few injuries, 1 sprain, neck and beck issues, better now.

 

wow, i start every paragraph with the word i, i need to improve my writing style.

 

for a while, we went dancing and learned some moves, that was fun, but we didn't stick with an an above beginner program.

 

 

in traffic, i had 2 fines this year, parking and expired tags.

on an unexpected side, i did planted and created my vegetable garden that actually grew 2 pumpkins. we even carved them into faces and scared kids in Halloween - my new tradition, 2 years in a row.

traditions continue with matzo ball soup in passover and my killer 3 layer mattza cake.

 

next year... lots of fun activities are considered now that school is over and i promise to continue writing and documenting it all.

 

cheers for year six

pura vida

happy Independence day Israel, and happy cinco the mayo.

 

 

on constrictors, deserts and baby waves

I'm sitting here, by the pool at 6:30 am looking at the jungle , waiting for something to pass by. yesterday a huge iguana walked here, looking at the jacuzzi. 

the day before yesterday we left monte verde and drove down the bad roads towards manual antonio. the 1st part was a descent from the high mountains with a glorious mountain and pacific ocean views. but most of the way was on a lovely coastal road. we had a lunch stop of the usual and saw a big iguana (not as big as the one we saw here) and alla got lucky and was given 4 mangos from an orchard workers. those are mangos that fell to the ground, he just handed her a bunch of them. he must like curls.

we stopped on a bridge over a river where crocodiles lay on the bank and some in the water. i counted almost 40 of them, just waiting for a tourist to fall. on the bank there were some iguanas and birds. one iguana charged at a bird and almost got it. the birds walks so close to the crocks, crazy birds.

manual Antonio is much warmer then the other places here. we came in before check in time, so we placed our begs on the side and headed for the ocean. wow, the water is so nice and warm, with fun big waves and the shore is sandy and pristine, with the jungle all around, and the hotels do not stand out in the sky line. this beach as some islands near by. we splashed for an hour, then headed back to find that most activities begin at 2 pm and now i was shortly after, so we planned our next few days, got an ice cream cone and discovered that most places here are tourist places, more expensive and not as good in general. why do they think i want a burger in costa rica?

in the evening, we hopped on the bus and went to the very fancy gaya hotel. were a car took us from the gate to the hotel!!! , this is not were we stayed. but they have a spa here and Alla enjoyed a massage and facial , while i read in the lobby. after that we enjoyed a yummy desert/ the restaurant chef went out to ask us how we like the lava case. fancy place.

after a luxurious massage and check restaurant, the obvious next step is to  take the bus home. but the bus didn't come, so we started walking and hitched with a french guy that kept complaining of a corrupt police force.

yesterday we began we a kayak tour in the mangroves, at damas estuary. right at the beginning we spotted a boa constrictor on a bush. we saw more iguanas' crabs, a sloth, several herons, ibises, bats, sand pipers, fly catchers, king fishers, grackles, butterflies, a possum and all four kinds of mangroves (papaya, mango, guanabana and pineapple). kidding. its white, black and i forget the other 2 kinds.its was a relaxed kayak tour, we went on various channels in the estuary and very narrow one where we had to use our hands to traverse the mangroves and was probably a hundred crabs on the many mangrove roots.

we napped for a while, had an over priced lunch an headed for a surf lesson. we did some ground practicing, then headed for very large waves. for the big waves which came in threes. we swam below and let them pass, wait for some baby waves, then tried to surf them. it took lots of tries just to get on the thing. many just to lay there on the board without falling off, but finally we did it, we managed to stay on the wave and head to shore. what an awesome feeling. but after every success attempts came several failure, we get up too late, to early, to close to the edge, to close to the other edge. it has to be right or you simply don't move. but most of the time passed battling the huge waves.  the waves got higher and higher and we cut the lesson short, since there were no baby waves. we will continue today in the after noon. but hell ya, we were surfing.

a day of fun awaits us....

pura vida from Manual Antonio park

on howlers, rice and beans

i am sitting here at 5:540 am , and once again the impressive volcano is completely invisible behind the clouds. the huge mountain is 1 K away from us, but we cant see it. how ever, there are many bird species creating a nature orchestra.

 

yesterday, we awoke and had a traditional costa rican break feast for rice, beans, fried plantains, yuka (some kind of potato). ,but first we had a Delicious fruit plate of fresh pine apple, water melon, bananas. this is how i should eat every day. we got on the transport bus and arrived at the sky adventure center. we began hiking up the mountain with a guide. it was a nice day, no bugs and no need for bug spray in this time of year and the guide explains about all sort of unique trees and their usages.we reach the 1st of several hanging bridges, those are wobbly a bit and are place above deep canyons and let you see over the canopies. interesting variety is on display below and above us. birds are everywhere with interesting collors. the tanager is so far my favorite, with a dark blu\black color and a bright red patch in the wing.  we see many sub species of humming birds and hear monkeys, howler monkeys. we start to look for them and follow the sounds and they move from tree to tree and finally spot a small clan. we see them, even a little one, move from one tree to the next, but it is hard to see them, all the way in the top of the tree. we spot a big toad, a lizard moving fast under a bush. warblers are nesting by the trail and we saw the chick inside the nest. a view points lets us see lake Arenal and the clouds slowly uplifting from the volcano.

we return to the jungle and reach the half way point, for a nature break, and even here, there is a big wooden resembling beetle in the urinal!!, i hope it was doing number 1. this was no dung beetle mind you. on the out side, i spotted a common sight of Alla glancing in the mirror. Alla misses no chance to verify the hair is not freesy.

 

we passed by a couple of nice waterfalls and more bridges. there are lovely spots of red flowers that are in stark contrast to the green all around.on occasion, we see butter flies, including the famous blue one, that looks like an owl when not moving. we ended the tour with a butterflaryum for a few more easy to see butterflies. a very nice 3 hour hike left us hungry and just in time for a typical costa rican lunch.

this time it was beans with rice, plantains, yuka and yummy fish, served with a freshly squeezed fruit juice,...so good. and as we sit the clouds finally reveal the entire volcano. i quickly take photos before the clouds set down again.

 

just before going up the sky tram, we saw a bug green lizard shaped like two leaves, the ridges are looking so real. then we went up the mountain with the tram at canopy height seeing very nice views. now it was zip line time. we have done several Ziplines in the past, but this was higher and faster from the rest.over deep canyons, with clear sight to the mountain , the lake and the vast jungle all around above the canopy. best Zip line so far. to relax after the exhausting effort of sitting down while gravity does all the work, we had a crepe.

 

we returned to the hotel after seeing a turkey high on a tree, turkies here are smaller, and can actually fly!. transportation here is minimal in the evening , so we hitched our way in to the town of furtuna. we were furtunate to quickly catch a tourist family. Fortuna is a small town, but liely. it has a dominating church and a lovely grass square swampled with local kids flying kits by day, or some projectile eminating various lights at night.we skipped the tourist traps and headed for soda (local's restaurant) ara. we got the traditional costa rican supper of yes, rice +beans, plantains, some yuka and banana salad with fish. we strolled in the town and sopped at Pops of delicious ice cream and returned to the hotel, early morning the next day..

 

the next day, we woke early, and got on the bus for a fun day. the 1st stop, canyoneering. that was after a quick stop for empenadas. canyoneering. we learned how o rappel, then began our path in a creek, following it for a couple of hours. during the hike, we rappeled 4 time, two short ones, and 2 really high ones, where we rappled half the way and were then asked to grab the secondary rope and let go... gravity does the rest as we plummet down and stopped by the guide. what a rush!, there was also one hole that we jumped into head height level water and at one point, the guide dammend the creek, we set down on the water fall below, and he move, letting a tzunami flash flood overtake us , that was fun. the guide is doing par cour and he jumps from banks to banks, on rocks with such ease, while we slowly make our path in the creek, its an impressive sight. at the end, after 300 hundred stairs climb,d with a costa rican breakfast, i am sure you know what it is by now :) and some great tasting fresh juice.

 

we get back in to town and head for action#2. we stop on the way at a fruit plate and i get a fried plantain plate snack. 20 minutes later, its rafting time.

 

as rafting goes, this is not on my top 5, its a level 2-3 ,but the water is not high enough and we are slowed down by the rocks, but the water are also warm, so its fun to splash and be splashed on. we get to ride the bull, meaning seating on the front on the boat, feet out in some of the rapid, and swim next to the boat in the deeper sections. we finally spot a sloth, sitting on a tree doing nothing, Turkey vultures, herons, king fishers, fly catchers. the guide stops on a bank, digs around and finds a poisonous frog, a tiny thing the size of a quarter. we get to hold it in our hands, but don't lick it... at the sopping pint with great pine apple, 3 cows stand very close and wait for fruit left overs, this is a popular spot for them and they eat the bark of the pine apple and water melon, a very sustainable practice. i go to the side to extract some liquid residue and see another of these poisonous frogs jumping around.

 

not long after, we reach the end of this two and a half hours raft, fun experience after all, due to the animal part and the other couples with us on this raft.

 

with dry clothes, we had for a little ranch with great mountain views, once again the mountain was not visible in the morning, but it is now in the after noon. great views and also beautiful birds. we get some traditional costa rican lunch, with a shot of some local moon shine , and enjoy the sun set views over the volcano. we then watch a demonstration of ancient (60 years ago) sugar can making process and get to sample the raw juice and the freshly made sugar.

 

we get back to the hotel and plan to return to town that night, but crash till morning.

 

 

on Panama, humming birds and a single letter

I am sitting out side at 6:30 AM, stupid work habits, got used to waking early. i just saw a bug hummingbird and a small one, perhaps the kid, green grass, red leaves bushes and the jungle is in front, and the huge Arenal volcano is somewhere above, behind a veil of mist.

 

around 28 hours ago, after finishing last minute work for work and school. we went to sleep at 2:30 am, planning to wake up at 3. never trust an exhausted person to set the alarm.. we some how woke up at 3:50 and were out the door in super rush 15 minutes, driving faster then usual, not parking in the economy lot, skipped go , did not collect 200$ , and made it 5 minutes before the 1 hour cut off time (only to find out the cut off time was 30 minutes...). with poor food choices here i got something at the local Oils R us and slept through the 1st leg of the flight.

 

almost 2 hours layout, and a healthy but not filing chilly, i prefered that over Alla's Crepe (yes, i said no to Crepe) and packed Panda express for the plane, i don't know why i eat more in airports. i slept most of the way of the 4 hour flight and soon the rugged costa rica appeared below a layer of clouds.

 

we waited for a long time for our suit cases and most of the people on the plane moved on. we started walking around looking for my brother and i noticed Alla's polka dot pink suitcase of the baggage claim from Panama!, i was not aware we just went there, perhaps i slept longer then i thought.

 

well, we made it out side and saw the guy with our names on it, that sign had 3 names, one of them was suppose to land minutes before us. we didn't see that flight on the landing monitor, that was odd, so we looked at the reservation to see if there was another lay over and then we saw it. San Jose CA (not CR) , one letter different. it hit Us, Shay went to the wrong airport!!!!! this is no joke. and this is not a movie. at this time, due to the time different, we knew about it before he even landed. we called the landing authorities and explained the situation. i just want a recording of him landing and saying, oh shit!!!.

 

well, he was supposed to join for several days, so now he will stay in stead in California and we will enjoy Costa Rica.

 

we laughed here, as this type of mistake is more fitting for me to do.

 

we began the drive to Arenal volcano at the happiest country in the world (per the local signs), enjoying a very rugged and very green country, palms, plantations and hills. twice we saw a blooming yellow tree, those stood in incredible contrast to the green all around. it rained on occasion but the weather is nice and warm. after a few hours we stopped at a place for lunch. so much better then plane food. a on a plate (a wooden board , with a big leaf on top) we got, rice black beans, fried plantains , corn + something, a salad and a steak. we begun digging in. i cautiously tried the fried plantains (its a kind of banana) and it was yummy. i tried the something next to the corn and it didn't kill me, was kind of plain. i checked ,it was squash, which makes this my 1st time eating squash and not returning it (also 1st time plantains..) . next to us, they place bird feeders and humming birds of all sizes, some purple, some green, some with white tails came can enjoyed lunch as well. we passed through the town of fortune, and checked in at the erupciones bad and breakfast (breakfast soon...).  a quick shower and we headed for a hot spring resort.

 

what a beautifully place. this hot spring is semi man made. the hot water are coming down from the volcano which i still cant see, stupid mist. the hot river was adjusted in to several small hot creeks, they adjusted the water levels with mini, almost invisible dams, to control the water levels and create dozens of water falls, in between these water falls, they create tiny pools, most are the size of say , a home pool, but they look natural, with palms and other jungle vegetation all around. you walk at night with just a bathing suit in the little lit trails and discover more of these tiny pool, soak for a while and move on. some are very hot, some are more mild. bird sounds are all around and frogs as well i think, we see none of them, only hear. this placed is packed and yet the spreading of trails and pools make each of the pool a secluded piece of jungle paradise.

 

the water here are not sulphur, they feel like regular water, no oily feeling.

after a while, it was dinner time. i prefer local food usually,however, this was a quality Italian buffet, so no complaints. yummy fuchsia with olive spread, stuffed pastas, carrot salad, pine apple, fish are some of the things i sampled. Alla ate like she hasn't eaten for days and the deserts were good too. bloated, we went for a second dipping session then we hitched our way back to the hotel , for a much needed sleep.

 

and now its time for breakfast, a day of adrenalin awaits...

Mattan Movie

For Mattan's birthday we made a movie - a short 30 + minute feature film- a collection of his journey

 

enjoy...

 

http://youtu.be/ro3xH56kEKA

 

on stickers and monsters

we get these stickers with our names on it , so we can place this sticker on envelope. we get piles of these from different charities. they give these sticker in a hope that we would send them a check back. so instead of paying them, i found a better use. i took a small sticker and put it on Mattan's hand, he tries to shake it off and of course it doesn't budge, he knows how to move it to another hand, but not how to get rid of it. i tell you, its the funniest thing ever. we were laughing so hard when he was shaking his hand. i wish i had a video.

 

did another 5k today. the race info described a challenging hill. though this is my 5th 5k or so lately, it is still hard and i haven't reached my time goal, far from it. the last thing i need is to think about a hill, let alone challenging,  hill is challenging, period. you don't say scary monster, a monster is scary. i think i lost 30 seconds just thinking how bad this hill be. 36 minutes this time, not my best, 2nd best this year, not bad considering the long tiring hill, but recovery is much better, starting to get in shape.

 

Mattanchuk is getting smarter, he takes a remote, hands it to us, then holds it back, like he is playing with us, he doesn't laugh, well perhaps inside. he identifies when i hide the remote and gets upset when he cant reach it. really obtaining a personality.

 

i am over due on my year summery report, its been six years already but expect it soon

 

 

on every day occurances

i get home, hungry, load some chilly on the plate and get a bit on my finger from the dish. so, i put my hand under the faucet and open the tap, and notice a bit to late that a strainer with potatoes is in there (already cooked), i stop the water after only damaging some potatoes. then decide to add some potatoes (from the dry edge) to the chilly, i use a spoon to pass potatoes and some fall to the ground. i scoop it up by hands , 5 seconds rule you know and put it in the chilly bowl. then went to pick up the rest, past the 5 seconds period and threw it in the sink, recalling a bit to late about the strainer with the potatoes already inside. , i pick it out of the strainer and  and throw it in the other side of the sink and stop my self in time, to move the tap away from the potatoes before using the tap again.

bon appetite.

this Monday was an unexpected warm day. i was very excited and put the littler pooping machine on my back in a carrier and went to a walk in the neighborhood, in a short sleeve shirt. the sun was shining, the snow has melted almost completely with rivers on the side of the road. i thought, spring has arrived, its not just the green grass, or the fact that we are bombarded with companies offering grass services, or kids are out side playing, or some lawn had something new beginning to grow(that extra fresh shade of green), its all of these together. i was in a good mood!

winter saw me and had to intervene and once again snoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow, 

where art tho' spring???

on first steps

Since i cant run long distance any more, one surgery is enough, i was looking for a replacement.

last year i decided to try a triathlon - well the small one, not the crazy iron man stuff. more of a mercury man level thing.

it took me a year just to get started. recently I've signed up for an event and started practicing. swimming, swimming and bike, bike and run and yesterday i tried all three combined.

this event is not distance base, but time based. 10 minutes swim, 30 on bike and 20 min running, just do what you can in this time, so it fits all levels. on yesterday's practice - i Swem faster than usual, since its only 10 minutes, almost made 400 meters, i broke my record of 9 miles on 30 minutes on the bike and the running was so difficult. my legs were heavy, i though i wouldn't last a minutes, but slowly i made it, around 2.5 k , slower then my recent 5k speed, but i am just happy i finished it. the real race is on Sunday, but i know it can be done!

 

that happened yesterday and was very exciting for me, but that was nothing compared with what i found at home today.

Mattanchuk took his 1st steps :::)  how awesome!!!, he did 2 steps, and i caught him, a minute later he did four, then six then 10, a natural. and just to get my heart rate pumping more. he finally stood, by himself, without holding on to anything. all in the course of 1 hour!!!! i am thrilled.

 

i wonder what comes next

 

happy Wednesday

 

on Buckwheat

Alla tells me that buckwheat is tasty. just add butter, milk, sugar, salt and bread. sounds good i say. but just might be better without the buckwheat.

 

we started giving buckwheat to mattanchuk and i am laughing my (well, what is a nice word to say instead of Ass, rear end, boring, hiney, too Al Bundy, but- not funny, well no better words, sorry) ass off.

 

these little bucks are now scattered in a wider area then a meteor hit can spread debrea.

he takes a bite or two, then decides he wants to drive the spoon, grabs it from the wrong end and the content spread every where. so i try to give it to him directly from the bowl. he takes a sip and i feel very proud, then he puts his hand inside, grabs some bucks and drops to the floor.

he also takes the spoon and drops it to the floor. he create mayhem in such a cute way that i cant stop laughing.

 

the joys of parenting.

 

 

Mexi photos

the link contains very disorganized photos of the mexico trip, and Mattan. not sure how the disorde occured..

 

enjoy

 

https://plus.google.com/photos/104769303678729727539/albums/5969136558182985169?authkey=CLjcpIbI5omXHA

 

 

on jumping, elements and rice water

for our last full day in Cancun, we took a Cenote tour. Cenote means cave with water in Mayan. since we saw a cenote the previous day (and loved it) we didn't know what this day would bring. but this tour had 4 cenotes with activities. the tour bus comes on time and leaves with no delay, and after the delay of the other company the previous day, we already like this tour. the guide explains everything in English and Spanish and after not so long we reach the 1st cenote. each Cenote here is dedicated to an element and we begin with the earth one i think. we disembark the van , put on life preservers, helmets and rappel gear, climb stairs to a platform on a big tree and soon we rappel down to the cave. I try the hands free approach and move away just before my head hits some edge and descend down to the water which is cool but not cold. we climbed out of the water and take our rappel gear off and jump back in. this cave has stalactites , but no visible stalagmites (since there is 10 meters of water...) and massive roots from the jungle above drink from the cenote as well. bats live in the cave and we swim over to see them, while they were not happy for the wake up call. the cat fish in the water was probably not pleased and went to find a mice fish to chase. we got out of the water and used the platform to dive back in close to ten times, i just love it. we cant stay there for very long but we get a warm up snack of bananas, unique hot chocolate made of corn and some other things which is thick and warming and rice water, which is exactly what it sounds but has sugar so it is quite good. we hop on the van and move to the next Cenote. this one is already a collapsed one, this an old one, thin of a medium size pond with jungle all around, water lilies and bright blue skies. just beautiful. and from edge to edge, the edges are about 8 meters higher then the water, a zip line is connected. this place would not be possible in the US, a zip line without being tide. you get on the zip fly across the cenote and choose to jump when ever you want! we do it 3 times, the water here are warmer then the last with no visible fish (they went after the mice fish). Alla also jumps in with no fear. at the end we can jump of the platform directly in, this is high but awesome.

for the next cenote, we walk down a shot man made cave and get to a channel with kayaks. this is a man made channel , but we don't notice it at first since it is so pretty. we kayak in this channel for 20-30 minutes and enjoy the sights, splash the other kayaks and have fun. this channel connects to the Cenotes' and uses their water. this place feels like a movie Scene. we leave the kayaks at the end, put snorkels on and dive to a cenote. this is not seawater so we don't have corrals, but lots of under water lilies, snails and plant life.

 

we leave the 3rd cenote and get a nice buffet lunch, go to the bathroom for the eight time today. the cold water activate my kidneys. and we had for the last cenote that begins with a smaller zip line, followed by a channel that we swim for fifteen minutes and a platfrom, high one to jump in at the end. i must jump 10 times, and this is a high one. i do get some bruises but it is worth it. we have another family with us that participated in everything and the high jump the young kid, age 9, jumps and lands poorly on his back. no damage just pain, if you ever landed badly on water you know how it feels. 

 

we finished this exiting amazingly pretty cenote tour and returned to the hotel.its the after noon and we rested  bit then went to the Italian place which seems fancy but was very snotty with stuck up waiters. then we joined the main crowd for more dancing and soon the night was over.

 

morning came too quickly and we headed for the airport and arrived 3 hours ahead and did a shopping tour of the airport (and got nothing!!! achievement). this time the pilot was there but an hour delay.

 

usually when you fly to Cleveland from outside the US, you stop at new york or some other big city, do immigration there and proceed, i never done it here. we get to this external terminal and wait forever for our bags. mine comes right away but Alla's refuses to come at some point i see it , it fell from the conveyor belt, on the other side of those little curtains. but it is close, i can almost reach it. the person next to me also waiting forever hands me the cane and i reach through the curtains and rescue the bag. then some employee (who wasn't there to help a second ago) comes out of nowhere and tells me that i met get in trouble. the delay caused us to be last in the customs line with 1 agent and its been over an hour since we deplaned and when i get to the agent, he asks me if i am looking for a way to escape next time i am here. lucky he accepts the explanation and i am not placed on any flight black list, and now we have to put the suite cases on another conveyor belt, get on a shuttle bus ,and pick the cases again from the main building, very strange process , but finally over and we are home where Mattan gives alla a face and wants to come only to me :) so adorable. i don't know how i will get Alla to go on another vacation with this reception, but he soon comes around.

 

 

enjoy some cenote photos

https://plus.google.com/photos/104769303678729727539/albums/5968125489700403985?authkey=CNqp8Oji-Me1EA

 

 

 

on pilots, wonders and vines

it was an average cold day when we drove off and headed to Mexico:)

 

we left Mattanchuck with savta lipstick and went to the airport. we checked in, passed security, go on the plane and then... no pilot!!! yes, no pilot. due to some strange new restrictive regulations, the flight crew and the pilot are no on the same team any more, we boarded , ready to go, just lacking a pilot. we deplaned and waited for some time for a volunteer pilot to come in from somewhere, he got a classic airport hand clapping and soon we boarded again and were on our way.

 

in Cancun airport we waited in line and tried to count how many times a passport is stamped, since we are both competitive, we both guessed and Alla got it wrong (well, so did i), its 3 per passport, very use full information i am sure. then at customs, this woman checks my declaration that i have no booze, drugs, plants etc.. and now i have to press a button. she doesn't say why, and i imagine the floor can open up under me, who knows. i press and a red light opens up and i am pointed to the , "lets open all your luggage and rummage through" line, which they do in a thorough fashion.

and finally we are out the door, now we wait for our transportation and finally we are out of the airport. we left at 7 am, it is now after 2 pm , with no lunch so we are both cranky , but soon we reach the Cancun strip and discover that our hotel is on the far side, but its a new place, so we watch the so many hotels there , while they drop off the other passengers and finally we reach our hotel , pass go  and avoid the people trying to sell us times share and reach a nice looking room.

 

we don't waste time and head for the a late lunch , i tried some fish and some buffet items, the fish is good. then the not warm but not cold gulf of Mexico water, we take a short nap and go to dinner which at a Chinese place within the temptations resort. the fish here too is very good.

 

we decided to go to the evening show- called anything goes and get there late, there is some game going on the room is split in to 3 groups and they have to perform all sort of funny assignments, as we arrive they want guys to skip all over the stage, then guys to do the warm. one guy actually walked on all fours instead of doing the warm and his pants open up, quite embarrassing. but its an adult only hotel, perfect for drunk people so who cares. few more tasks and i didn't have a chance to participate and then the last task arrive. they want a guy dress like a girl. well, i have no choice but to answer the challenge. i lift up by cargo pants all the way up, some woman from the groups hands me her dress and remains in underclothes while i try somehow to put her dress on, i put her high hills on, i apply lipstick in the worse possible way and get alla's bag for show. i can barely stand on these hills, how do women do it, i keep thinking i will hurt my ankle. with 3 guys on stage now , one from each group, they want us to dance, i am the last to go and start with a dance number, not sure what i am doing and i can barely stand so i use my accessories, the bag , twirl it around and then throw it up and .... it gets stuck on the ceiling!!! the content, including alla's phone falls out. i win the last challenge, the group wins the whole event and our captain gets a champagne bottle. and gives it to me, despite that i only participated in 1 event. i have to take it:). it took them a while to find a ladder to get the back down, and i became a celebrity for a few days ans the guy who trough the bag. staff members repeated my stupid bag throwing move. but the sad thing... no photos!!!!!!!!!! Alla's excuse is that the phone was in the bag...

 

next morning begins with, ok buffet breakfast, no more, then its beach time. we swim a bit, then take a kayak for a while and relax. some times after we get picked up and head for the dolphins.

 

what an awesome experience. we get to this man made lagoon and quickly these majestic creatures go all around us performing tricks(well i know they were trained for that) but still wow. they clap their fins, talk to us, splash us, swim fast, kiss us, let us pet them, i didn't know they were so power full. for the main trick, we are asked to keep our ands to the side, legs straight and feet down then one or two dolphins (2 in my big case) push at my legs and i am flying on the water, simply amazing. the dolphin, Kaan, ends the show by jumping over our heads. we purchased the very expensive video, but i think it was worth it. we returned to the hotel and got some ehhh, not so great lunch buffet and made it just a bit late to the Mr temptation competition at the pool. 3 guys volunteered and they had to dance sexy, one guy got naked, i don't think it was sexy. than do more think i cant mention in a PG blog and in the end collect as many swim suit pieces from the guests as possible..they collected a lot. the lucky woman volunteer had to dance (without the missing pieces... for the right to get their bathing suits back... now, in this adults only hotel, clothes are optional, but those who coose not to wear them don't always ask permission from those who are there. some people should remain with clothes.

right after i signed up for a wind surfing lesson, lucky no one else joined so i got a private lesson. got on the board, fell in, got up, fell in, repeat 10 times, got up, managed to stand, tried to raise the sail, fall down, repeat 10 times and finally it started to get easier, i got the sail higher and higher before falling to the water again. after 20 minutes i finely got the sail over from side to side and 10 minutes later i was riding it, though very slowly there and back a few times, so now i know how to wind surf, i just need to find a place here to practice in the summer, really fun sport. tired and bruised from sailing and failing i went to rest in a valley ball game. i love volley ball, just not very good, but still made a few points, mostly for the other side. we rested a bit and went to the Chinese place again for more good fish.

 

the next morning we woke up early and waited for the tour at 7 am, the bus was late and took us for some souvenir store where we got off the bus. in this place, people from the over 100 hotels on this strip come for tours in this company then mixed and go on other buses. all this fun resorting took almost 2 hours, no wonder this is a day trip. finally we left Cancun and headed south. stop 1 was valladolid, a world heritage site with a a church from the year 15 something, or as the guide said, the 15th century.... they gave us 10!!! minutes only to view this church in the middle of a lovely park. we took 4 minutes in the church, but the big square was lovely and seems so nice all around, why only 10 minutes? we left the city and got to another souvenir store, this time for an hour and 45 minutes, shopping for lunch, why so much at this shop, so annoying, we would love to be more in the city, but the food was good at least. we got to see a real Mayan house. after this massive time waste we finally got to chichen itza- the pyramids of the Maya and a new world wonder, #3 for me :) .

after all this waiting, I had no patience to listen to the tour guide and we decided to explore the site on our own. the pyramid is impressive , but we were not allowed to climb it, the site is very large, several other smaller pyramids and hundred of pillars with interesting carvings on them, most warn out but some still remain very clearly. there are many souvenir stands here, each an every one of them is a descended of the high priest, each sell"unique" items that all look the same, and they use the "almost free" as a trap for us silly gringos. we spend interesting few hours before we have to leave and the rain comes in warm buckets but slows down quickly. last stop of the tour was a cenote. a cenote is a cave with water in Mayan. there are hundreds of them in central America, but this one was incredible. think of a giant well in the rain forest - 20-30 meters from edge to edge and 40 meters down in an almost perfect circle.vines descend from the edges and reach to the water below, we descended 91 stairs after taking a shower to keep the cenote water fresh. and this paradise is revealed, a pretty darkish pond, with lots of fish and many stairs for us to dive into the water. pure heaven. with very pleasant feeling water. we jumped in many times and swam in this amazing pool.

on the way back we watched the movie on the Maya apocalyptic and after a dinner of fried shrimps...mmmmm it was bed time.

 

 photos and the rest of the trip will come in a few days